Packers overcome cold, late rally to beat Bears 30-27
CHICAGO (AP) — It wasn't the 1967 Ice Bowl between Green Bay and the Dallas Cowboys, or even the coldest game ever played at Soldier Field, though it was enough for one player to wear a wet suit to stay warm.
The Chicago Bears and Packers withstood harsh conditions, and Green Bay came up with the victory Sunday.
Aaron Rodgers hit Jordy Nelson with a 60-yard pass and Mason Crosby kicked a 32-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Packers to 30-27 victory on a day when the game-time temperature was 11 (-11 Celsius) and the wind chill minus-4 (-20 Celsius).
"I think we watched The Weather Channel all week and the wind wasn't quite as bad as we thought, and I was very thankful the sun was out and that made it more manageable," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said.
The 12-mph wind failed to hurt passing games as Rodgers completed 19 of 31 passes for 252 yards.
"It was uncomfortable at times," he said. "But I think it was warmer than most of us were expecting."
The Bears (3-11) and Packers (8-6) combined for 900 yards, their highest combined total since 1940 — a span of 152 games.
Bears quarterback Matt Barkley led a fourth-quarter comeback from a 27-10 deficit and completed 30 of 42 for 362 yards with two touchdowns — but had three interceptions.
Barkley did it wearing a wet suit to stay warm.
"I have (worn one) in the water, but not on a football field," Barkley said. "It ended up working out well. It did not restrict my play."
The Bears hosted Green Bay in 3-degree temperatures (-19 Celsius) and a minus-15 (-26 Celsius) wind chill on Dec. 18, 1983. The coldest game at Soldier Field in terms of pure temperature was Bears against the Packers Dec. 22, 2008, when it was 2 degrees, with a minus-13 wind chill (-16 and -25 Celsius).
A total of 44,601 spectators braved the conditions, but there were 16,536 no-shows.
The payoff for weathering the cold for Green Bay was moving within a game of Detroit in the NFC North after the Lions lost to the New York Giants.
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